West Group Regional Training Workshop

Dates: November 16-23, 2003
Location: Venice, Italy
Partner: Danish Institute for Human Rights
Final report [*note]

Participants

Liam Mahony, Peace Brigades International, USA
Using protective international accompaniment

Paul Mageean, Committee on the Administration of Justice, Northern Ireland
Using international mechanisms to apply pressure on a national government to institute policy and legal changes

Sandra Coliver, Center for Justice and Accountability, USA
Using civil suits to hold human rights abusers accountable

Anneke Bosman, Amnesty International, The Netherlands
Using text-messaging to build issue awareness, new constituencies and mobilization for action

Philippe Duhamel, Operation SalAMI, Canada
Using "dilemma demonstrations" to demand government transparency

Maria Hirtenlehner, International Centre for Cultures and Languages, Austria
Using cross-cultural exchange (tandems) among police officers and immigrants to build understanding and empathy

Reed Addis, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark
Using a human rights compliance assessment tool to engage business in evaluating their human rights responsibility and the implications of operating in foreign countries

Uli Mueller, Food First Information and Action Network, Germany
Using a human rights ("right to food") framework to influence investment decisions and investment operations of financial institutions

Jo Render, First Peoples Worldwide, USA
Building corporate capacity to create constructive relationships based on a respect for indigenous peoples’ rights

Jennifer Prestholdt, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, USA
Adapting traditional human rights fact-finding methodology to emerging human rights issues

Tamara Muruetagoiena, Elkarri, Basque region, Spain
Using social mediation to build pressure toward conflict resolution

Liz Sevcenko, Tenement Museum, International Coalition of Historical Sites of Conscience, USA
Identifying and utilizing historical sites to address current human rights issues and concerns

Liam Mahony Peace Brigades International, USA

Using protective international accompaniment
Since the mid-1980s, human rights groups and other activist organizations being targeted with repressive abuses have been calling on international NGOs to provide them with direct accompaniment by international field workers. These field workers – usually volunteers – spend twenty-four hours a day with threatened activists, at the premises of threatened organizations, in threatened communities or witnessing public events organized by threatened groups. The international presence serves as a deterrent against the use of violence. In order to ensure this deterrence, these international accompaniment organizations are part of transnational networks poised and ready to mobilize political pressure against perpetrators should their volunteers witness any attacks or should their clients be further threatened.

"We’re not there to work on their movement, but to protect it and give them the complete empowerment to run their own movement without our interfering. Accompaniment is not about doing something, but being somewhere."

Paul Mageean Committee on the Administration of Justice, Northern Ireland

Using international mechanisms to apply pressure on a national government to institute policy and legal changes
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) has succeeded in raising the issue of human rights abuses in Northern Ireland at the international level and, by doing so, improving the human rights conditions in the country. This was accomplished through the use, in particular, of a UN mechanism–the Committee Against Torture. In order to use international mechanisms such as this effectively, a number of other tactics were used, including written submissions to the Committee, lobbying in Geneva and monitoring how the various Committee reports have had on Northern Ireland have improved the human rights situation.

"We didn’t come to conclusions ourselves, but gave them all the evidence and documentation they needed to come to conclusions themselves."

Sandra Coliver Center for Justice and Accountability, USA

Using civil suits to hold human rights abusers accountable
The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) works with refugee communities, human rights organizations and torture treatment centers throughout the United States to help survivors of egregious human rights violations to hold their persecutors accountable. CJA works to deter torture and other severe human rights abuses around the world by helping survivors hold their persecutors accountable. CJA represents survivors in civil suits, using the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 that give U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike the right to sue human rights abusers who live in or visit the U.S. CJA has used both these acts to bring civil suits against human rights abusers aiming to stop the U.S. from being a safe haven for human rights abusers and help survivors to break the silence that has enabled abusers to live in impunity. Many countries in Europe and Latin America have laws similar to the ATCA. The strength of this tactic depends on building coalitions among diverse groups of activists, refugees, lawyers and people who know how to use the media.

"These lawsuits are a great way to attract press attention, which in turn can be used to influence public opinion, public policy and enforcement."

Anneke Bosman Amnesty International, The Netherlands

Using text-messaging to build issue awareness, new constituencies and mobilization for action
Amnesty International-Netherlands recognized the power and potential use of text-messaging technology (SMS) in order to attract new AI members, build awareness of the campaign against torture and engage new people (especially young people) in quickly responding to cases of torture through Urgent Action appeals. The initial result was 520 new members gained directly from SMS participation with over 5,000 additional people becoming active in the SMS urgent action campaign.

"Text messaging is a quick, simple response, yes. But they are thinking about human rights and torture every time. This brings them into a discussion they weren’t a part of before."

Philippe Duhamel Operation SalAMI, Canada

Using "dilemma demonstrations" to demand government transparency
The Canadian government faced a real dilemma when hundreds of its citizens showed up at the Ottawa headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) holding "Search & Rescue Warrants" for the draft documents of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Behind the success of the campaign was a strategy that included a number of tactics including the usual petitions, letter writing, legal demonstrations, etc., with the added twists of an unequivocal ultimatum, civil disobedience training on the premises of the Canadian parliament and the drama of the Search & Seizure Operation, a type of nonviolent direct action. Operation SalAMI’s dilemma demonstration tactic is one part of an overall strategy that pressures the government to examine its values and the requests of its citizens.

"The difference is about building alliances. Finding the crack in the discourse that lets you put a wedge in and break the system. . . Don’t let your opponent define the terrain. Find the dilemma for the government and use it."

Maria Hirtenlehner International Centre for Cultures and Languages, Austria

Using cross-cultural exchange (tandems) among police officers and immigrants to build understanding and empathy
Originally, the idea of "tandems" was created for language learning. It has proven to be effective for building understanding and empathy among police officers for new refugee and immigrant populations. It came about after violent incidents with the police and the refugee community in which several immigrants died. The violent techniques the police used were not taught as part of their training, but were common practice. The problem was clearly not with the laws–but somewhere else. In tandems, police officers are paired directly with people from other countries who now live in their communities. They work on project they choose together over a nine-month period. This pairing process is combined with regular meetings and group discussions in conjunction with a broader police course. Now in its fifth year, the course has gained respect and interest. Recently, the Ministry of the Interior received 80 applications from higher-level police officers requesting to be chosen for the 25 available positions in the course.

"We start the discussion by saying that police are the biggest human rights organization. It is their job to protect human rights. They always look surprised by this."

Reed Addis Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark

Using a human rights compliance assessment tool to engage business in evaluating their human rights responsibility and the implications of operating in foreign countries
"A lot of tactics push civil society actors. Our tactic seeks to pull them." The Danish Institute for Human Rights has developed a Human Rights Compliance Assessment (HRCA) tool, based on environment impact assessment and international conventions and laws, to aid businesses in assessing their human rights obligations in countries where they operate or plan to locate. The tool helps them understand human rights standards and implementation in the countries where they operate, as well as the possible implications and liability issues for their company.

"There is a sense that international standards are for governments not for businesses. Whether the company is or is not using this tool, NGO’s can use it to question companies and push the dialogue."

Uli Mueller Food First Information and Action Network, Germany

Using a human rights ("right to food") framework to influence investment decisions and investment operations of financial institutions
Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN) documents violations of the rights to work and to feed oneself and intervenes when those rights are violated–such as when people are unjustly evicted from their land, when they are denied access to fishing grounds or other resources or when they are paid below-minimum wages. One particularly creative tactic FIAN uses is to use a rights-based framework and documentation process to pressure financial institutions to be accountable for investment decisions or investment operations that deny people access to their human rights.

"We asked them (the financial organization) to use their influence to do things differently, and they said they couldn’t because they didn’t have the power to influence the system. So we said, get out. And they said, no we can’t get out, because then there is no chance to influence the system. So we decided to work together."

Jo Render First Peoples Worldwide, USA

Building corporate capacity to create constructive relationships based on a respect for indigenous peoples’ rights
Based on shared experiences from Indigenous peoples and extractive companies (oil, gas, mining and logging), First Peoples Worldwide and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) have collaborated to build company capacity to create constructive relationships with Indigenous communities. This tactic works to improve company understanding of effectively integrating communities into decision-making processes at an operational level, in order to achieve prior informed consent.

Jennifer Prestholdt Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, USA

Adapting traditional human rights fact-finding methodology to emerging human rights issues
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (MAHR) uses traditional human rights monitoring methods to document human rights abuses, but has also made a practice of adapting this methodology to emerging human rights issues. MAHR has identified and developed practical and sustainable strategies for adapting human rights monitoring methods to address domestic violence (in Eastern Europe and the U.S.), child survival (in Mexico, Uganda and the U.S.) and transitional justice (in Peru).

"Transitional justice is the next phase of human rights work. By putting an external monitoring factor in there it will help ensure that transitional justice is complete."

Tamara Muruetagoiena Elkarri, Basque region, Spain

Using social mediation to build pressure toward conflict resolution
Elkarri utilizes a form of dialogue called "social mediation" to build civil society participation and put pressure on groups in conflict to move toward peaceful resolution. Local forums are held to engage community members from different backgrounds to come together to discuss the conflict. One of the most important themes of discussion is what the political parties can do to resolve the conflict. Through the forums, Elkarri also develops initiatives to pressure the political parties in the Basque region and throughout Spain to promote peaceful solutions.

"We knew nine months before the peace conference that there wasn’t going to be an agreement. But we had created a monster. Public awareness was heightened and people were interested and wanted to work towards peace, to be involved."

Liz Sevcenko Tenement Museum, International Coalition of Historical Sites of Conscience, USA

Identifying and utilizing historical sites to address current human rights issues and concerns
The Tenement Museum is one among many organizations using historical sites of conscience around the world as tools to create dialogues for democracy and to bring diverse and divided people together. These sites create spaces for rebuilding futures by remembering the lessons from the past. In an 1863 tenement building, the museum hosts discussions among conflicting parties in the garment industry about what can be done to address the problem of sweatshops today. The Tenement Museum went on to create the International Coalition of Historical Sites of Conscience to encourage the exploration and active use of identified places of significance in local, regional and national memory. This work also bridges the gap between past and present in order to continue the advancement of human rights.

"[We] wanted to transform this evidence into a site of conscience. It had to be more than just putting this evidence up on a wall. We made a commitment to share and engage the public in dialogue–which became dialogues for democracy."

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